As if Rangers fans weren’t already in love with Mats Zuccarello, here comes this quote from the Norwegian winger on his contract negotiations with the Rangers (via Nettavisen)….

“The most important thing to me is how many years the contract is for, not necessarily how much the salary is. I want to be able to compete for the Stanley Cup every season and therefore will not necessarily push wages up to the maximum.”

Zuccarello adds that he’s hoping to get a three or four year contract to remain with the Rangers.

Zuccarello did warn that while a contract could be signed in a day, there is also a chance he could go to arbitration.

…with all the greed surrounding free agents in every sport, this is a breath of fresh air. With Richards being bought out, there’s going to be a change in team leadership and while I’ve never seriously considered Zuccarello before, I think he’d be an amazing pick to have a letter on his chest. Here’s a guy who recognizes the Rangers precarious salary cap situation and is willing to work with the team to make sure he stays while keeping them competitive. I friggin’ love this guy!

…this would also mark the second time in his Rangers career he took less money to stay in New York as he took a one-year deal at just $1.15M last season to help keep Rangers under the cap. Seriously, while Callahan tried to bleed every penny from the Rangers, Zuccarello is willing to do whatever it takes to remain a Blueshirt. This is the kind of guy you kill to have on your team.